Aukus deal’s importance ‘well understood’ by Trump administration, Penny Wong says – but no iron-clad guarantee given

Penny Wong with Marco Rubio at the US State Department in Washington DC. She said he had heard Australia’s position on the need for Aukus to proceed. Photograph: Allison Robbert/AFP/Getty Images

The strategic importance of the Aukus agreement is “well understood” by the Trump administration, Penny Wong says, despite a snap Pentagon review casting doubt on the future of the pact.

In Washington DC for talks with Quad nations foreign ministers on Wednesday, Australia’s foreign affairs minister said the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, had heard Australia’s position on the need for the agreement to proceed, though she did not receive any iron-clad assurances from her counterpart.